Safety attachment



E. C. ETCHISON.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8, 1920.

1,397,371 Patented Nov. 15, 1921..-

0 J. v l C I I T 7 3A JET EUNIGE C. ETCHISON, OF FAIRFAX, ALABAMA.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15,1?)21.

Application filed October 8, 1920. Serial No. 415,530.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUNIon C. ETCHISON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Fairfax, in the county ofChambers and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Safety Attachments, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in safety attachments suchattachment being particularly adapted for use in connection with clothfolding machines of the type disclosed in the patent to E. Hall, datedMay 81, 1898, No. 604,749, and to which reference is made for a fullerunderstanding of the said machine and the analogy of my attachment tosaid machine.

In the machine referred to a table is employed upon which the cloth isplaced from a suitablefeeding mechanism and is folded in the propersize, such machine having means for raising and lowering the table tosuit the operation and in connection with such table are means to retainthe folds of cloth. In the operation of this machine the folding knifeor blade in its passage back and forth acts jointly with the retainingmeans referred to, and it has been found that operators throughcarelessness or neglect have started the machine at an improper time,causing the blade to move back and forth and injure the hand, arm orother part of the person between the folding knife and the clothretaining or abutting means.

With this serious objection and defect in view, which has resulted inmany accidents and serious injury to operatives of such machines, withthe consequent loss of time and expense to the factory, the main objectof my invention is the provision of a simple attachment which willprevent the improper or accidental starting of the machine and whichwill thus absolutely prevent accidents to the attendant or operator.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an attachment orappliance which can be adapted to the machine without any change in itspresent construction and at a very trifling cost, and which will provean efficient, desirable and practical adjunct to all machines in use orto be manufactured and placed in use.

In order that the details of construction and the operation of myinvention may be understood, and the attainment of its objects beappreciated, I would say that briefly stated, my invention consists inthe combination with the belt shifting mechanism and the treadle forraising and lowering the table, of means for locking the treadle whenthe table is in the lowered position for removing its contents.

The invention further consists in certain details of construction andcombination of,

parts substantially as shown, described and particularly defined by theclaims.

Figure l is a side elevation of the cloth folding machine referred to inthe patent stated, provided with my attachment.

Fig. 2 is an end view showing in full lines the position the partsoccupy when the table is elevated, and in dotted lines the position theparts occupy when the table is depressed, an

Fig. 3 is a detail view with the parts of my attachment in the positionthey occupy when the table is elevated and the machine in operation.

In the description of my attachment I will make no particular effort todescribe the construction of the machine as a whole as a reference tothe patent noted will make such construction clear, and I will say thatthe parts of my machine in connection with which the machine elementsoperate is most clearly seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawings, the letter A designates the frame, B designates thecloth receiving table, C designates the cloth folding element carryingthe blade member D, E designates the connecting means for raising andlowering the table, F designates the pitman and G the foot pedal towhich said pitman leads from the connecting means E, the raising andlowering of the pedal acting to necessarily elevate and depress thetable, such pedal and table being returned to normal position under theimpulse of a spring mechanism not shown.

Mounted in the frame is the driving shaft H carrying upon one end theloose pulley J and the fast pulley J, the belt K being capable ofshifting movement from the loose to the fast pulley by means of the beltshifter L upon the rod M mounted in the frame and actuated by theshifting lever N, such belt shifting rod M having mounted thereon thedepending arm 0 which arm 0 forms the important feature of my inventionand acts as shown in Fig. 3, when the machine is in operation.

The table B is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as being raised for the foldingoperation and the tieadle Gr consequentlydepressedsothat when the leverN 1s swung outward to shift the belt K to the operating pulley the arm'0 has free play to the right.

' WVhen the treadle G is released from the stop P, it rises and thetable 13. descends and the treadle arrests the lateral movement of thearm O,and the'lever and belt shift.

Consequently the machine cannot. operate while the table is lowered andthe folded cloth is being removed.

It will thus be apparent that I provide an attachment which can beplaced upon cloth machines of the type described, or in fact upon anycharacter of machine where it would function properly, at a very smallcost and which will absolutely prevent the constantly recurring andexpensive accidents referred to and which attachment should commenditself to all persons conversant with machines of the characterdescribed.

I clalm:

1. In'an" attachment of the character de-' scribed, the combination withthe beltshifting mechanism and the table operating pedal, of meansoperating in conjunction shiftingmechanism when the table is-lowered,said means consisting of an arm carried.

by the belt shifting mechanism.

In testimony whereof I-aflix my signature.

EUNICE .o. ETCHIS'ON.

